Exhibition

William Sprueill

American, b. 1986

GRACE OF THE HAIR SPLITTER, 2015

Hot-sculpted and coldworked (polished) glass

A tsuba serves as the handguard of a katana, the long single-edged sword, wakzashi the shorter of the two traditionally used by Japanese samurai. Like the swords, armor, and robes of the samurai, the tsuba functioned as both protection and as a decorative symbol of the warrior’s status. I chose to emulate this in glass because I believe this is representation of how these aren’t meant for use and are purely for aesthetics. I researched and aimed to work with the glass the same way sword makers would with steel. I folded glass blanks and stretched and formed the swords and traditionally wrapped the handles, and the tsubas are carved and polished. These pieces are speaking on fleeting beauty.